A Phoenix man convicted of murdering a father of three in a 2020 road rage incident tried to evade police by hiding out in Buckeye, according to court records and prosecutors.
Steven Orona, 39, was sentenced Friday to life in prison for first-degree murder and 16 years for a drive-by shooting in the killing of Larry Milligan, a Valley resident gunned down while driving near 7th Avenue and Interstate 17 in Phoenix.
According to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office, Orona pulled alongside Milligan’s vehicle and fired a single fatal shot through the driver’s window. Surveillance footage captured the attack, which prosecutors described as lasting only 48 seconds but having lifelong consequences for Milligan’s family.
More than a month later, detectives tracked Orona’s SUV to a rural property in Buckeye belonging to his girlfriend’s family, according to a MCAO press release. The vehicle had been repainted to conceal its identity. His then-girlfriend, Yessenia Garcia Rocha, who was in the passenger seat at the time of the shooting, later testified that the two conspired to hide the SUV. She was sentenced to one year of probation after pleading guilty to tampering with physical evidence.
Orona’s sentence was handed down by Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Todd Lang. In addition to life in prison for murder, Orona received a concurrent 16-year term for the drive-by shooting. He received credit for 1,708 days already served, according to the county. A third count of tampering with evidence remains pending.
At sentencing, Milligan’s widow gave emotional testimony, telling the court she and her husband had been together since they were 15 and had built a life with their three children, according to the county.
“The absence of his presence is felt in every corner of our home,” she said. “Now I must step up as both mother and father of our children.”
Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell said Orona’s violent outburst left a permanent mark.
“An exchange that lasted 48 seconds destroyed a family,” Mitchell said. “We see road rage shootings like this far too often. Anyone who resorts to this level of violence out of anger belongs in prison.”
Mitchell credited MCAO Homicide Bureau Chief Jon Eliason and Deputy County Attorney Tiffany Brady for their work in the investigation.
